[Bead: Chris, your eyes… what did you see in your dream?]

“It’s a long story. Practically three years’ worth.”

[Bead: …? First Narrow Eyes, and now you’ve started talking nonsense too? Narrow Eyes, that son of a bitch! I knew he was suspicious—what did he do to you?!]

“Don’t be too harsh on him. He did the best he could.”

The System, which had grown hostile toward me in the second round, would hardly welcome Narrow Eyes—a glitch in and of himself.

If my guess was right, he had pulled this off knowing full well he’d face retaliation from the System.

…Would he be safe? The image of Real Chris disappearing still haunted me, filling me with unease.

‘I need to get out there and check on him right away. If he’s in one piece, I’m going to punch him.’

And I wanted to tell him, on Real Chris’s behalf, that he’d done well. Thanks to him, I’d finally realized what I’d been forgetting.

Narrow Eyes, my students, and this world.

I wouldn’t let them meet the same ending as before.

Everything else could wait until after.

From now on, surviving together was the top priority.

“Bead, let’s head out.”

Time for this Roleplay Addict to return to form.

* * *

Emerging from the dungeon, I found myself in front of the same abandoned dormitory building where I’d entered.

“….”

Silence. No one in sight.

Only the dagger Narrow Eyes had thrust at me lay on the ground.

‘Activate Bedallua Academy map.’

I searched for any name tagged “Yujin” within the campus.

Nothing showed up.

To be precise… the area around the abandoned dormitory where I stood was completely blacked out, making it impossible to see properly.

As if someone had hastily covered up something that shouldn’t have been there.

‘I probably won’t be able to use this place again.’

I silently picked up the dagger and tucked it away. I needed to return it to its owner.

Yujin—Narrow Eyes—was definitely out there somewhere. I refused to believe he was dead or gone.

That meal date he’d been so persistently pestering me about—surely that hadn’t changed in the second round either.

Unlike some people, he’d be overflowing with attachment to life.

He’d be clinging to some corner of this world, no matter what.

‘I’m Korean too, and I have a heart. I can’t just let go of someone I owe a meal to without paying it back.’

So I would find him. By any means necessary.

As I made that resolution, a quest window appeared before my eyes.

[Main Quest: Request of the Earth God 3-1]

[Your disciples are strong enough with magic alone, but you can’t ignore the role of tools. As their professor, let’s go equip them with weapons each. I hear there’s an unknown dungeon somewhere that holds legendary weapons trapped within….]

Condition 1: Include ‘Michael Foxin’ in the party.

Condition 2: No party member shall use magic within the dungeon.

Condition 3: Designate one party member as a ‘sacrifice’ before entering the dungeon.

Time Remaining: 47:06:26]

This was the quest I’d received before being shoved into the dungeon by Narrow Eyes. Thankfully, there was still time to spare.

I’d never been particularly fond of quests, but now that I knew where this path led—

‘Ugh, I want to quit.’

My face scrunched up involuntarily.

[Upon Failure: Be buried six feet under with the worms.]

Oh, sure, you bastard. Your personality’s gotten considerably worse than in the first round.

‘From his perspective, it probably feels like unplanned overtime. Can’t blame him for being annoyed, I suppose?’

But these were the kind of people who shoved unfair contracts at someone with a cracked skull dying on the floor, so I wasn’t about to pity them.

Anyway, now that I’d recovered my memories, one thing was clear. Plenty had changed or been distorted entering the second round, but—

‘The overall flow was still similar to some extent.’

In other words, I’d completed this quest in the first round too. Which meant I knew exactly where this unknown dungeon was and how to get there.

Only this time…

‘I can’t just grab the kids’ weapons and walk out.’

I needed to thoroughly loot this legendary armory.

* * *

On a dark night when most students would have been fast asleep.

X-Class had gathered in front of the main building’s entrance, responding to the summons of their homeroom teacher—me.

“Haa~ I was planning to sleep early today. Why’d you call us at this hour?”

“She said she’d cancel tomorrow morning classes instead, so isn’t that better? Let’s just get this done quick and sleep in for once.”

“Oh, come to think of it, Bell’s eyes look even brighter at night! Is she nocturnal?”

“…!”

“She’s probably an evening type, Nika. Everyone has different times of day when they function best.”

“In that case, which type are you, Professor?”

“Looking at those dark circles, she might not sleep at all—”

High energy, plenty of noise. They all seemed pretty excited.

Come to think of it, I’d had the same romanticized view of an empty school after all the students went home when I was young.

A bit scary and eerie, sure, but that was exactly what made it feel like exploring uncharted territory.

‘Though this time, I actually need to “explore” for real.’

“Oh, the Professor’s here. Professor!”

“Wow, seeing you at this hour makes your face look even more ghostly…”

“Someone shut that mouth of truth, please.”

Seeing these faces after so long, I couldn’t bring myself to speak harshly.

In the first round, I’d gone the “rude Chris has reformed” route and doted on them freely, so trying to suddenly treat them coldly with my ‘Chris’ persona felt…

“I heard you rats chattering away from my room, so I came to cut your tails off. If you have something to say, keep talking. I brought scissors.”

“Nothing, ma’am.”

“We’re sorry.”

“We’ll be quiet~”

Regardless of how much it pained me, I had to stay in character.

With my hands clasped behind my back and a calm tone, the kids straightened up their posture.

“No, it’s because she says stuff like that so calmly that it feels like she’d actually do it, and that’s what’s scary…”

One glare at the whisperer, and that too quickly vanished.

Nothing good comes from scaring them too much, so let’s get to the point.

“Bedallua Academy has quite a few hidden locations.”

“I’ve heard the rumors! They say upperclassmen skip class secretly in some of them!”

“Most of those are pathetic hideouts, but a few are actually useful.”

The problem was that all of them had a difficulty level. In the first round, I’d been overpowered enough to smash through everything and guide the kids myself, but—

‘This time, I’d have to hope they could handle it.’

Not that I was too worried. The Protagonist had awakened, after all.

If anything, I’d been too overprotective of my students in the first round.

Maybe that was why I hadn’t been prepared for the betrayal at the end…

‘No, but honestly, was that even something you could prepare for?’

Let’s not dig unnecessary holes and just move forward.

“Therefore, your first objective is to find the hidden location I’m directing you to—in other words, the dungeon entrance.”

“What indicator should we use to find it?”

“Simple. Don’t focus with your eyes—focus with your mana. There will be a place whose wavelength resonates with your mana.”

Of course, that was just something I said offhandedly.

The weapons obtainable here were exclusive items for the X-Class members anyway. In other words, each one already had its designated owner.

I’d confirmed in the previous round that they’d instinctively find their way to them.

The one problem, though…

“Hmm~ A treasure hunt. I’m not very confident about that.”

“Dolce always lost whenever we bet on treasure hunts.”

“…If you told us about some kind of distinctive scent or something, it might be easier to find.”

“I’ll try focusing with my eyes closed, like you taught us last time.”

The fact that this wasn’t a treasure hunt but more like a game of tag.

“Uh… the door is running away! Hey! Stop, wait!”

“The energy was right here until just no—damn it, when did it move over there!”

“Isn’t sticking to the ceiling cheating?!”

It wasn’t for nothing that I’d called them at night. I couldn’t have them causing this kind of commotion during regular Academy classes.

“For your information, if you use magic, it’ll detect it and run away, so use your bodies. And keep the noise down. You’re loud.”

“You should’ve said so from the start, Professor…!”

“Well. Any complaints?”

In short, this meant the mages—whose abysmal physical fitness was practically an unwritten rule—would have to run their hearts out.

As for me…

‘I’d get winded after more than five steps, so I’ll just wait here.’

[Bead: I thought you’d become a slightly better person, but you’re right back to your old self in no time. I’m in awe of this consistency now.]

Oh, please. It’s not like I’m Real Chris. This is who my ‘Chris’ has always been.